Life Together

First Bruderhof news. Then Bernard, Marianne, and Peter respond to recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia. Also, Bernard interviews a non-Christian visitor to the Bruderhof. Finally, as part of a continuing discussion of the document "Foundations of our Faith and Calling," the Bruderhof's public account of its faith and practice, they talk about why Christian creeds are necessary. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -'Genesis 1-11: A New Old Translation For Readers, Scholars, and Translators' by Samuel L. Bray and John F. Hobbins - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1942697376 -Credo from Schubert’s Mass in G performed at the Mount Community - https://youtu.be/9rQWu8zzeMU?t=20m50s -Foundations of our Faith and Calling - http://www.bruderhof.com/foundations Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram

Bernard, Marianne, and Peter discuss why IQ and SAT scores should not determine a person's worth and how our society's valuation of people's value is not in accordance with Christianity. Also, Peter declares war on meritocracy. Then, as part of a continuing discussion of the document "Foundations of our Faith and Calling," the Bruderhof's public account of its faith and practice, they contemplate what lessons we should and should not draw from the lives of the earliest Christians. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -'The War On Stupid People' by David H. Freedman - https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/07/the-war-on-stupid-people/485618/ -Recording of Heiner Koppschall http://www.plough.com/en/topics/culture/music/wandrers-nachtlied -Foundations of our Faith and Calling - http://www.bruderhof.com/foundations -'The Patient Ferment of the Early Church' by Alan Kreider - https://www.amazon.com/Patient-Ferment-Early-Church-Christianity/dp/0801048494 Rate us and leave us a

Peter, Marianne, and Bernard on how manual work is humanizing in a way that knowledge work is not. Includes an interview with Bruderhof member Daniel Hug about his path from academia to weeding leeks in a monastery. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -'Back to Work' by John Waters - https://www.firstthings.com/article/2017/08/back-to-work -'Shop Class as Soulcraft' by Matthew B. Crawford - http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/shop-class-as-soulcraft -'H Is for Hawk' by Helen Macdonald - http://amzn.to/2edk9iD -Project Upland - http://www.projectupland.com/ -'All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain's Political Class' by Tim Shipman - http://amzn.to/2huQd71 Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Email: contact@bruderhof.com

Peter, Marianne, and Bernard talk about the humanities and how they are undervalued. Then: what do Acts 2 and 4 have to say to the church today? (Part of a continuing discussion of the document "Foundations of our Faith and Calling," the Bruderhof's public account of faith) Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -'Liberal Arts in the Data Age' by JM Olejarz - https://hbr.org/2017/07/liberal-arts-in-the-data-age -'On Reading Old Books' by CS Lewis - http://www.covpres.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/On-Reading-Old-Books.-CS-Lewis.pdf -'First Church of Intersectionality' by Elizabeth C. Corey - https://www.firstthings.com/article/2017/08/first-church-of-intersectionality -'The death of reading is threatening the soul' by Philip Yancey - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/07/21/the-death-of-reading-is-threatening-the-soul/?utm_term=.49c7ea279770 -Seamus Heaney - Nobel Lecture - http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1995/heaney-lecture.html -Foun

Lots of excitement out there about the discovery of the so-called Moroccan jawbone (nyti.ms/2uf5nSi) which upset received wisdom on the history of humankind. Bernard, Marianne, and Peter discuss what science knows (and doesn't). Bernard reveals that he is secretly a flat-earther, and Charles Darwin is discussed admiringly. Bernard interviews Philip on being a Christian and being a scientist. Then, as part of a continuing discussion of the document "Foundations of our Faith and Calling," the Bruderhof's public account of faith, they talk about the Bruderhof's twenty year sojourn in Paraguay, South America. Also, moss piglets. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -'What Is Space' by Jorge Cham & Daniel Whiteson - http://nautil.us/issue/49/the-absurd/what-is-space -'This Is What We Don’t Know About The Universe' - by Caleb A. Scharf - http://bit.ly/2uG8Zxc -'Saving Silence: Unlearning the Sin of Curiosity' by Nathaniel Peters - http://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/discipleship/saving-s

In the political sphere norms and unwritten rules are being broken at an astonishing rate. This week Bernard, Marianne, and Peter consider what norms are important in Christian community and how to recognize when they become outdated and should be discarded. Then also continue discussing a section from the document "Foundations of our Faith and Calling," the Bruderhof's public account of faith about the Bruderhof's heritage. Bernard also interviews George Verwer, founder of OM International, a Christian missionary organization (https://www.om.org/md/en) Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -'How Do We Contend With Trump’s Defiance of ‘Norms’? by Emily Bazelon - http://nyti.ms/2ta7Sl9 -'The Uninhabitable Earth' by David Wallace-Wells - http://nym.ag/2uZO3it -'Everyone Belongs to God' by Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt - http://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/discipleship/everyone-belongs-to-god -Foundations of our Faith and Calling - http://www.bruderhof.com/foundations Rate us and lea

This week Marianne, Bernard, and Peter discuss an article that appeared in the Huffington Post: "I Don’t Know How To Explain To You That You Should Care About Other People" by Kayla Chadwick. Then they consider a paragraph on forerunners from the document "Foundations of our Faith and Calling," the Bruderhof's public account of faith. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -'I Don’t Know How To Explain To You That You Should Care About Other People' by Kayla Chadwick - http://bit.ly/2tjab9x -'The Welfare State We're In' by James Bartholomew - http://amzn.to/2tWaBDI -'The Patient Ferment of the Early Church' by Alan Kreider - http://amzn.to/2suwHJ9 -Check out https://twitter.com/Chris_arnade -'Eyeless in Gaza' by Aldous Huxley - http://amzn.to/2sRtTVw -Foundations of our Faith and Calling - http://www.bruderhof.com/foundations Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/theb

June is wedding month. Marianne, Bernard, and Peter discuss simple weddings and their charms. Then they consider a paragraph on heritage from the document "Foundations of our Faith and Calling", the Bruderhof's public account of faith. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -Foundations of our Faith and Calling - http://www.bruderhof.com/en/our-faith/foundations -Darkness Over Germany by Amy Buller - https://www.amazon.com/Darkness-Over-Germany-Warning-History/dp/1911350196 -Sheriff of Babylon Vol. 1: Bang. Bang. Bang. by Tom King - http://amzn.to/2tCf9vk -Milosz: A Biography by Andrzej Franaszek - https://www.amazon.com/Milosz-Biography-Andrzej-Franaszek/dp/0674495047 Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Contact: contact@bruderhof.com

Marianne, Bernard and Peter respond to questions and criticism of the last episode "Why I Live Without Money". Then they begin discussing the document "Foundations of our Faith and Calling", the Bruderhof's public account of faith. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: 'Foundations of our Faith and Calling' - http://www.bruderhof.com/en/our-faith/foundations Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Contact: contact@bruderhof.com

Marianne, Bernard and Peter ask each other why they live without money and reflect on the conversation surrounding the United States' withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -Review of "All Things in Common" by Roman A. Montero - http://bit.ly/2rwOyAP -Gospel in George MacDonald - http://www.plough.com/en/topics/culture/literature/the-gospel-in-george-macdonald -Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize Lecture - https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2016/dylan-lecture.html -Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Leonard Bernstein - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IInG5nY_wrU Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Contact: contact@bruderhof.com

This week Bernard and Peter welcome Marianne Wright to the Talkfest. Marianne lives at the Spring Valley Bruderhof in southwestern Pennsylvania. In this week's episode, Peter, Marianne, and Bernard respond to a common criticism of the Bruderhof, namely our working relationships with groups (both religious and non-religious) whose beliefs are different than our own. They also discuss some recent writing about the unintended effects social media is having on our world. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: Twitter and Teargas by Zeynep Tufekci - http://amzn.to/2rMLr9m ‘The Internet Is Broken’: @ev Is Trying to Salvage It - http://nyti.ms/2rt6UUo Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Contact: contact@bruderhof.com

Peter and Bernard respond to a listener's question about their views on home schooling. Bernard interviews Pastor Edward from Syria about what the suffering his congregation experiences is teaching them. Then Peter and Bernard discuss whether money really is a spiritual blessing from God. Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Contact: contact@bruderhof.com

Peter and Bernard on why religious liberty is important. Includes an interview with Simon McCrossan who is Head of Public Policy for the Evangelical Alliance in the UK. They also discuss some disturbing statistics having to do with adverse health effects on caretakers of sick or aging family members and what the Christian answer to this modern need is. Here are some of the links and references from this episode:: *"My Mother’s Quiet Burden Was My Father’s Fading Mind" by Jay Newton-Small: http://slate.me/2rvVefI **The Bruderhof on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thebruderhof - please comment and share our podcast and other posts. Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Contact: contact@bruderhof.com

In this week’s episode of Bruderhof Talkfest, Peter and Bernard respond to a question from a listener and discuss how the church can remain relevant in society without selling out to trends. They then listen to an interview Bernard did with Rowan Williams, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, and talk about how believers worship. And of course, as you’ve come to expect, there is a lot of talk about their pets. Here are some of websites mentioned in the podcast: * The Bruderhof on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thebruderhof - please comment and share our podcast and other posts. * Rowan Williams and Christian Aid UK: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/ * “Darkness over Germany” by E. Amy Buller: http://arcadiabooks.co.uk/books/Darkness%20Over%20Germany%3A%20A%20Warning%20From%20History * “The Reckless Way of Love” by Dorothy Day: http://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/witness/reckless-way-of-love Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.b

After a few weeks off, the Talkfest returns! Bernard and Peter try to podcast without Norann. Somehow they managed... In this episode, they remember Pastor Johann Christoph Arnold, discuss the “March for Science” and how science fits with religion, and then touch on the topic of loneliness, including an interview segment with Emma McCrossan (https://twitter.com/EmsMcCrossan). Here are some links that were discussed in the show: Heinrich Arnold’s reflection on his father Johann Christoph Arnold: http://www.bruderhof.com/en/voices-blog/life-in-community/in-remembrance-johann-christoph-arnold Pastor Rick Warren’s reflection on Arnold: https://www.facebook.com/pastorrickwarren/photos/a.414149010902.210939.34845120902/10155084436620903 Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s reflection on Arnold: http://www.cny.org/stories/radical-discipleship-lived-in-our-midst,15453 Arnold’s book "Why Forgive": http://www.plough.com/en/topics/life/forgiveness/why-forgive Dhruv Khullar on social isolation: https://www.nytimes.co

Norann, Bernard, and Peter bat around a recent article by Wilfred M. McClay, "The Strange Persistence of Guilt" and a related column by New York Times columnist David Brooks. Also, what will they be doing and what will they be listening to during Holy Week. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -The Strange Persistence of Guilt by David Brooks: http://nyti.ms/2oK1iDZ -The Strange Persistence of Guilt by Wilfred M. McClay: http://bit.ly/2nMgKxR Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Contact: contact@bruderhof.com

In this week's episode, Peter, Norann, and Bernard discuss a recent article from Plough Quarterly titled "The Teacher Who Never Spoke," about Plough editor Maureen Swinger's disabled brother Duane. This man, who could never walk or talk, coached dozens of his peers into manhood. Later our hosts talk about C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: - "The Teacher Who Never Spoke" by Maureen Swinger is at http://www.plough.com/en/topics/life/parenting/special-needs-children/the-teacher-who-never-spoke - "The Gospel in George MacDonald" is at http://www.plough.com/en/topics/culture/literature/the-gospel-in-george-macdonald Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Contact: contact@bruderhof.com

The Bruderhof and the Benedict Option. Rod Dreher’s new book "The Benedict Option" is on the New York Times bestseller list. After last week’s panel discussion with Rod and others at the Union League Club in New York, Peter, Bernard, and Norann share their thoughts on Rod’s proposals. Also, spring is here and what are you doing about it? Here are some of the links and references from this episode: - Surrender Melbourne 2017 Conference: http://surrender.org.au/conference/ - "Life Among The Bruderhof" blog post by Rod Dreher: http://bit.ly/2mXYoqc - "Fighting Drought With Trees" by Chris Voll: http://bit.ly/2nel6vO - "Jesus Is Coming – Plant a Tree" by N.T. Wright: http://bit.ly/2lKk61R Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof’s website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebruderhof Facebook: facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/bruderhofcommunities Contact: contact@bruderhof.com

This week's episode features the complete recording of a remarkable discussion that took place on Thursday, March 16, in New York City. In an event sponsored by Plough, First Things, and The American Conservative magazines, Rod Dreher, author of "The Benedict Option," discussed his strategy for building up communities of faith that are robust enough to flourish in a hostile culture. After Rod spoke, there followed a series of responses and questions from Ross Douthat (NY Times), Jacqueline Rivers (Seymour Institute), Michael Wear (Public Square Strategies), and Randall Gauger (Bruderhof). It was all moderated by Peter Mommsen. Background information on the speakers featured in this episode: -Rod Dreher's blog: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/ -Ross Douthat's columns: https://www.nytimes.com/column/ross-douthat -Michael Wear's website: http://michaelwear.com/ -Seymour Institute: https://www.seymourinstitute.com/ -Randall Gauger's occasional blog posts: http://www.bruderhof.com/en/voices-blog/our

In "Protected or Prepared? Rescuing Childhood from the Classroom," Norann, Bernard, and Peter say that an overemphasis on academics is ruining childhood. They discuss an alternative approach, and the influence of German pedagogue Friedrich Fröbel on Bruderhof education. Also, a conversation on how they’re preparing for Easter this year. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -"The New Preschool Is Crushing Kids" by Erika Christakis: http://theatln.tc/2l7WAyN -"A Child’s Right to Play" by Johann Christoph Arnold: http://www.plough.com/en/topics/community/education/a-childs-right-to-play -For more on how we educate our children at the Bruderhof: http://www.bruderhof.com/en/life-in-community/education -Bach’s "St. Matthew Passion: An Appreciation" by Chris Zimmerman: http://www.bruderhof.com/en/voices-blog/world/bachs-st-matthew-passion-an-appreciation -A free download of "The Crucified Is My Love" by Johann Ernst von Holst is available here: http://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/devotion